So before I even took my masters in accounting we had to write an essay on how AI was going to change the accounting industry. Book keeping will be replaced, ect. and this will open jobs up for more business analyst because you need more people interpreting the data. As much as everyone wants there job to be safe, MOST low tier accounting jobs will go slowly but more business analyst jobs should open up. So your job will be 100% reviewing information and communicating into people.
When I wrote this essay I did not know the capabilities of AI. Currently it is astonishing, as it could calculate my body fat % after 8 weeks. If I feed it, my height, weight, my weight exercise routine, my caloric intake, and my cardio calories I will burn a day, it can calculate it for me. It will change the accounting industry to more of a business analyst role. With the example I said above, I had to talk to the AI, and keep questioning it and correct its interpretation of what I asked it to get a someone accurate result. Our jobs will be something similar to communicating some already do that. Yes, there will be talent let go, I don’t think most accountants understand how much can be automated, even in excel.
I worked for a Big4 firm in tax, and I created a worksheet where when you click a button (VBA) it would organize the spreadsheet by name, other things its still manual as excel doesn’t have an AI built in. Take it from someone who knows excels limitations.
We will still use excel but it will open up the possibility of less work for us.
UPDATE: OH SHIT IT WAS ANNOUNCED 1 week ago Google and Microsoft is brining AI to excel. So that means our jobs will be more of business analyst and communication and for the time being we will be still cleaning up data. The article said the AI that will come with excel, “will be integrated across apps to help expedite tedious or repetitive tasks” so it will only benefit higher level, and learn how to use the AI for excel when it comes out. Here’s a link where you can read more: https://theconversation.com/amp/google-and-microsoft-are-bringing-ai-to-word-excel-gmail-and-more-it-could-boost-productivity-for-us-and-cybercriminals-202046
Will an AI excel that will be released in a couple months change the industry, YES. But learn to use it. One problem the article says is that it’s a privacy concern regarding client information so we don’t know how it will work.